


Give Me a Lifetime of Promises and a World of Dreams

by mcgarrygirl78



Series: The Grove [8]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Drama, F/M, Family, Friendship, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-07
Updated: 2014-10-07
Packaged: 2018-02-20 05:31:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2416688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“To hell with legacy…let’s make a new legacy.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Give Me a Lifetime of Promises and a World of Dreams

“Am I lame?”

 

“Why would you ever ask me something like that? That is the second time in a week you’ve used that term in a sentence. Of course you're not…you're amazing.”

 

“I mean, here I am with the most intelligent, beautiful, wonderful girl on Earth and all I can give you is the backseat of my Firebird.”

 

“You're insane.” Emily laughed, running her fingers through this hair. “You have given me much more than that, Aaron Hotchner. Even if you didn’t, I like the backseat of the Firebird. I like the tight squeeze.”

 

“Emily…”

 

“What? Do you doubt me? Shall I list all the reasons why tonight is totally awesome? I can do that you know.”

 

Hotch nodded though he didn’t say a word. He knew all the reasons but sometimes he had this fear that he was not good enough for her. She was beautiful, smart, and from a “good” family. Surely, her parents had ideas about the kind of man they wanted for her. What if he didn’t fit that description? What if the Prentiss family chose to get rid of him? 

 

He knew Gregory and Natalie were on his side but Elizabeth left something to be desired. And there was always Grandmother Prentiss; Emily talked about her too. She did not seem like the type who failed to get her two cents in. Just three days ago, he promised the rest of his life to her…Hotch wanted to keep that promise.

 

“If we were at home right now, mine or yours, we would be under the watchful eye of one parent or another.” Emily said. “The Firebird is just for us. We have Arby’s, music, and absolutely no interruption.” She kissed Hotch deeply, her arms moving tighter around him as he moaned.

 

“I have to admit, this mixed tape is top of the line.” Hotch replied when his lips parted from hers. “I made a list and everything.”

 

“You always know exactly what I want and need. That is why I love you Hotch; it’s why I always will.”

 

“Do you promise?”

 

“Yes.”

 

They kissed again, Hotch’s hands moving under her sweater and blouse to caress her back. The small space of the Firebird was perfect for her. It was freezing outside but toasty in there. The Cure sang _Just Like Heaven_ ; Emily felt butterflies in her stomach. Hotch picked her up at 7:30 and took her straight to Arby’s. 

 

They got their favorite meal before driving off to the little wooded area behind the park. It was less than two miles from Emily’s house and a major make out spot for local teenagers. In the summertime, the cops cruised every hour and broke it up. At the end of December, it was deserted. Emily loved being alone with him even if it was a little eerie. 

 

“Emily?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Why was your mother so insistent on your going to Harvard? You know my dad wanted me to go there too. When he died I knew I could finally carve out the life I wanted.”

 

Emily got comfortable, straddled on his lap in the tiny space, her back resting on the driver’s seat. Talking about her mother was never easy and events recently brought to her attention made it more difficult. She and Hotch promised each other they would not let the sins of their parents affect them and she planned to make good on that.

 

“Elizabeth Prentiss does not need reasons to be demanding. She went to Ole Miss and my father went to Penn. Grandmother Prentiss actually wanted either Julia or I to go to Barnard, which is her alma mater. Mother associates Harvard with good names.” She shook her head. “Or something to that effect. I don’t care about such things.”

 

“I'm a legacy. My grandfather attended, then my father. Sean and I are expected to go there someday.”

 

‘To hell with legacy…let’s make a new legacy.”

 

“Yeah,” Hotch pulled her close again, sliding his lips over hers. “You and me baby; Bonnie and Clyde.”

 

“Bonnie and Clyde?” Emily raised an eyebrow as Hotch unbuttoned her sweater and pulled it down her arms. “How about something friendlier, Roman and Marlena perhaps?”

 

“Who?”

 

“ _Days of Our Lives_ Hotch.” She worked on the belt to his jeans.

 

“Not the soaps…please. I will think of something else but not the soaps. They are much too girly.”

 

“Oh God forbid,” Emily replied laughing.

 

“Exactly. We should…mmm, baby.”

 

Hotch’s head lolled back as she stroked him through his open jeans. He unbuttoned her blouse, cupping and squeezing her breast over the expensive bra. The way she moaned turned him on. They never went beyond making out in the Firebird; honestly, there was not enough room. Still, making out had its benefits.

 

“Aaron?” she leaned to whisper in his ear, her stroke slow and sensual.

 

“Yeah baby?”

 

“I want to show you something special? Do you want to see it?”

 

“Oh yeah.”

 

At that moment, she could have asked Hotch if he thought parachuting off the Grand Canyon was a good idea and he would have given the same answer. It took some inventive movement on Emily’s part but she got her body into a position that was nearly comfortable.

 

“Oh my God, oh God, Em!” Hotch’s eyes flew open, a whimper escaping his diaphragm when he felt her mouth on him. She had never done anything like that before. Emily hardly ever touched it, though she was much less nervous than she used to be. This was out of the stratosphere. He could never tell her Haley had done it before. With his ex, it always made Hotch uncomfortable. She was a little rough; it was clearly a power trip. 

 

Then there was that drunken time with Kate Joyner at the end of sophomore year. Hotch shuddered the few times his mind went back to that place. It was a sickening encounter and he avoided Kate and her smug looks for weeks afterward. It was different with Emily…everything was different with her. It seemed impossible that anything could feel so damn good. Hotch loved Emily’s lips and her mouth. He wondered if he told her that enough.

 

“Oh God,” his back arched as his hand found the back of Emily’s head. “Jesus Emily! Oh baby, baby, oh yeah!”

 

He was close, Emily knew his body well enough to know that. JJ and Elle’s words went through her mind; it was all about the follow through. Garcia compared it to a horror film…you knew the bad stuff was coming but you were still caught off guard. So she braced herself, and when it happened, her boyfriend gasping and moaning, Emily handled it wonderfully. She took a deep breath, letting the urge to vomit pass. OK, that would definitely take some getting used to. It was actually a bit disgusting. Another favorite quote of Elle’s, ‘ _spitters are quitters_ ’, went through her mind as Hotch grabbed her close and kissed her breathless.

 

“Holy hell,” he murmured between kisses. “So amazing.”

 

“You're just so good to me,” Emily caressed his face. “I want to be good to you too, Hotch. It’s about more than sex but I really hoped you liked that.”

 

“I did, Emily. I really did.” Hotch kissed her again. “You are good to me, wonderful, and I love you.”

 

“I love you too. There should be something more than that.”

 

“What do you mean?” Hotch cleaned himself up. Emily climbed back on him, hugging him close as he inhaled the scent of her perfume.

 

“I love you is so…not enough. It’s so much more Aaron, don’t you feel it? We should have something as special to say as our relationship. Something as special as this ring on my finger.”

 

“You and me baby,” he kissed her warm skin. “For always.”

 

“That’s it.”

 

“Hmm?” his nose nuzzled between her breasts. Hotch really wished she were naked.

 

“You and me…”

 

“For always.” Hotch murmured.

 

“Exactly.” She drew him into another kiss. “I should probably get home soon.”

 

“Why? We don’t have school in the morning.”

 

“No, but I have been scrunched up for a couple of hours now.”

 

“I'm sorry Emily. Next time I’ll drive my mom’s Buick…it’ll be like having a hotel room.”

 

“Yeah.” Emily smiled.

 

They laughed and Hotch kissed her nose. He helped her into the front seat before climbing onto the driver’s side. Cheap Trick sang _The Flame_ through the speakers; Hotch lowered the volume after restarting the engine.

 

“I had a great time tonight.” she said.

 

“Me too,” Hotch backed out, driving onto the road. “I'm excited about New Year’s Eve; Elle promises it will be an event to remember. Your parents said you could go right?”

 

“I’ll be there. It’s going to be another first for me. I have never been to a New Year’s Eve party. I cannot believe 1989 is practically over. In the beginning of the year, I was petrified. I wanted to be away from my mother but had no idea what I was facing coming here. I had never gone to school, never had friends. I thought no one would like me.”

 

“You were wrong.”

 

“You avoided me like the clap.” Emily replied.

 

“That’s because I was attracted to you from the first moment I laid eyes on you and it freaked me out.”

 

“That’s easy to say now.”

 

“That first day you wore black tights with a black turtleneck. Your hair was in a ponytail; you had on red lipstick. I wasn’t overly fond of the lipstick…I prefer you in more subtle colors.”

 

“I wasn’t wearing a ponytail.”

 

“Yes you were, that morning in AP Calculus. The cafeteria was not our first encounter, Emily Prentiss.”

 

“So you were watching me?” she looked at him and smiled.

 

“Yes ma'am.” Stopping at a red light, he leaned to kiss her. “You were the most beautiful girl in the room and you still are.”

 

Emily blushed as the car moved into her neighborhood. Blocking her driveway, Hotch pulled up to the curb.

 

“Call me tomorrow.” She said.

 

“I'm going to call you before I fall asleep. I'm hanging with the guys tomorrow; don’t forget.”

 

“I haven’t.” she kissed him and stroked his face. “You and me, Aaron.”

 

“For always. Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight.”

 

Emily got out of the car, walking up the driveway. Hotch made sure she was safely inside before pulling off. The events of the past year were new for him too. He never thought he would feel like this about anyone. He never thought he could survive long separations from Jason. He definitely never though time at The Grove would end. This time next year, he would be on Christmas vacation from college. 

 

Things happened too quickly. Sometimes Hotch tried to sit very still and willed time to slow down. They were not kids anymore…the Three Musketeers were men. He needed to go home and call Jason and Derek. They were probably out on dates, but Hotch would try. He just needed to be 12 again for a little while. Then it would be alright to grow up.

 

***

                                                                                                       


End file.
